military

The B-52 Stratofortress, which first entered service as a nuclear deterrent during the Cold War in 1952, has received its first ever technology overhaul. This overhaul, dubbed CONECT, brings the B-52H bomber kicking and screaming into the late 20th century, with a digital intercom system, color displays, a LAN for the plane’s various systems, and other bleeding-edge upgrades. Previously, the B-52H was a mishmash of digital and analog systems, with monochrome displays and targeting systems that had to be manually programmed from pen-and-paper coordinates. You’ll be glad to hear that, like the plane’s original load-out, all of the new systems have been radiation shielded for nuclear apocalypse warfare.

The UK Ministry of Defense is exploring the development of a quantum compass that could effectively replace GPS in submarines and other military applications. If it pans out, a quantum compass could end up in your smartphone one day too.

It isn’t a hoverboard, but it is the next best thing: Californian company Aerofex is now taking down payments for the Star Wars-like Aero-X hoverbike. Priced at $85,000 the Aero-X certainly isn’t cheap, but if it actually comes to market as promised in 2017, I don’t think the price tag will be an issue for early adopters. The Aero-X, if it performs as advertised, will be capable of carrying up to 140 kilos (310 lbs), at an altitude of 3.7 meters (12 feet), at speeds of up to 72 kph (45 mph).

Congress has approved a resolution to spend more money on ICBM missile defense systems, despite the United States’ continued failure to effectively field test a design. We’re building and deploying rockets that haven’t been through any sort of successful evaluation — and spending $40 billion, in total, by 2017.

The US Department of Defense, working with top computer scientists, philosophers, and roboticists from a number of US universities, has finally begun a project that will tackle the tricky topic of moral and ethical robots. This multidisciplinary project will first try to pin down exactly what human morality is, and then try to devise computer algorithms that will imbue autonomous robots with moral competence — the ability to choose right from wrong. As we move steadily towards a military force that is populated by autonomous robots it is becoming increasingly important that we give these machines, these AIs, the ability to make the right decision. Yes, the US DoD is trying to get out in front of Skynet before it takes over the world. How very sensible.

Last week, a 1950s Cold War spy plane — the Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady — caused hundreds of planes across the US to be grounded for an hour, and delaying hundreds more that were already airborne. The U-2, which was just minding its own business at an altitude of 60,000 feet above southern California, triggered a software bug that caused the FAA’s air traffic control system to “overload” and shut down. The backup system also failed, presumably for similar reasons. The beautiful irony is that both the plane and the air traffic control software were created by Lockheed. How did an ancient plane that has been trawling the skies for almost 60 years cause such a catastrophic failure?

Virtual reality is currently the hot new thing in the world of gaming. If these technology giants actually execute on the promise of “VR that doesn’t suck,” virtual reality has the potential to invigorate the industry like nothing else before. However, the Rift and Morpheus have decades of VR failure to fight against. Even if the finished products are solid, can they convince the average consumer that virtual reality is worth the investment?

For just over 500 days, the US Air Force’s mysterious X-37B OTV-3 robotic space plane has been casually orbiting the Earth. What’s truly weird, though, is that its payload, current mission, and combat capabilities are completely unknown. X-37B OTV-3, one of the world’s largest artificial satellites, has been up there for 500 days, shows no sign of coming down any time soon, and we have no idea what it’s doing or what it can do.